Looking for Gatwick Parking

Always on impasse when we want to book our airport parking, especially if you fly from Gatwick Airport.


Booking your Gatwick Parking can be very ‘trying’ for your nerves. If you don’t have friends or relatives to recommend you a reputable and reliable car park you’ve got to go through the tedious search online.

Not the search itself is what gets you but how do you chose the right Gatwick Parking ,the one that offers you the peace of mind that your car is safe and to be good value for money as well.

A lot of companies just flourished overnight at Gatwick. If you browse the internet for Gatwick Parking you get a lot of companies who offer you ‘the best deal’ then others.

A lot of them will enchant you with their well structured website, to the point content and REALY good prices. But in this day and age almost anyone could make a good website but what lies behind the ‘SO GOOD WEBSITE’ will make you wonder.

We tend to take at face value all that is said to us, either over the phone or online when we make a booking, but who checks all this car parks at Gatwick to assure you that they are true to their word?!


Airport Valet Parking Contractors Association will do that for you. AVPCA is an Association of valet parking contractors that have come together to protect their industry from the increasing number of rogue operators and bad practices.

In particular, the Association has been formed as a result of the increase in professional looking web sites, offering discounted services but regretfully lacking in solid investment into premises, insurance, staff training or have little call for Customer Relations.

Their aim - Protecting customers against rogue airport parking firms and bad practices in airport parking.


Planning Permission
To ensure that all their members have principal places of business that has the correct planning permissions for the operation of airport parking.

Arbitration Services
If a dispute does arise all the members have signed up to their arbitration and dispute resolution charter giving a complete peace of mind.

VAT Registered Businesses
Making sure that all members are correctly registered for VAT ensuring that you receive correct bills & invoices, assisting you in your accounting processes.

Land Line Telephone Number
It is a requirement that all members have registered telephone landlines. They don't accept those operators who only use mobile phones.

Registered Business Offices
As part of their due diligences to protect you, the customer, they check that all their members have registered offices at companies’ house and they visit those offices.

Up-To-Date Financial Accounts
To ensure you are not dealing with a "fly by night" firm all members are required to supply audited financial accounts showing they are solvent.

Certified Accountants
In addition to checking the solvency of their members they also check out their accountants to ensure that accounts are provided by reputable companies.


Criminal Records Bureau
To protect consumers AVPCA runs checks on all our members to ensure that they are in turn checking the CRB records of all of their staff.

Interaction With Local Police
In order to best protect our customers, their members interact with Local & Airport Police wherever possible. History shows that Rogue Traders cannot afford to embrace the Local Police and use the help and advice available to protect our customers.

Full Liability Insurance
In the event of an accident you need to know that all our members have the required amount of insurance cover. They run these checks an all their members for your peace of mind.

The truth about car parks at Gatwick Airport

The truth about Gatwick Car Parks

We all heard the horrible stories about Car parks that operate at Gatwick Airport. There are Car Parks at Gatwick that employ inexperienced drivers, park cars on industrial estates, supermarkets etc

Unfortunately - yes, there are such car parks that see the opportunity for an easy buck and go to great lengths for it.

All that I can say is don’t tarnish them all with the same brush.

There are a lot of factors to look for when you book your Gatwick Parking.

What is the first question we ask - Where is my car parked?

We all ask this question and more often then not we get ‘Our car park is minutes a way from the airport’.

How far ‘minutes a way’ is most of the cases? I tell you - a lot. Always check if the company that you park with has their CAR PARK location published; not the company address or head office.
And don’t believe the story that will not be safe if the car park location is published. Why will not be safe to be published you have to ask yourself. That could only mean that they don’t have an authorised car park, no security measures in place etc

Always check where your car will be parked.

Are your drivers insured to drive my car?

We know, by law YOU HAVE TO BE INSURED to drive a vehicle. Why ask about the drivers if the company should have the insurance?
For the …….duuuh reason which we all should think of it. The DRIVER is the one who will drive your car.

By law, a car park MUST have insurance for their drivers. The criteria’s for insurance on car parking companies are not far from what you know. They look on the company’s drivers age, mature drivers = experienced drivers, if they have points or other penalties, points = more likely your driver may take your car for a joyride, especially if you own a sport car etc

When you sum up all the factors, the insurance may go sky roof high if they employed the neighbour’s son that want some extra pocket money. Will they pay such a high insurance? very unlikely.

Ask with whom have the insurance, on reputable companies you’ll find it published on their web site.

Why you charge considerable less than other companies?

We are draw by the low price that some companies quote us. Here is a double sword, if you see a price that is way below the average cost for Gatwick Parking think twice before you book. It may be a special offer or introductory price on their service but always check with them before you book.

Very small prices are questionable in the Gatwick Parking industry, and for Airport parking in general. To afford to pay the rent for your car park space, add the taxes, the insurance and all other expenses, when you draw the line and do the math you’ll see for yourself that £20.00 - £30.00 for one week parking doesn’t cover the cost for an authorised car park at any airport.

But as I said, not all are the same. You’ll find authorised car parks off site Gatwick Airport, which have all the measures in place.

Take Tudor Rose Valet Parking for example (or meet and greet – as many of you refer to as). You can see where their car park is, you can visit their car park any time. Just take the postcode and go on Google Earth, you’ll find it there exactly as described.

Their drivers are uniformed and all mature; confident and experienced with all type of cars. Insured and cheeked by the police. Members of AVPCA, an organisation which collaborates with Gatwick Police and Gatwick Airport to ensure that companies such as the ones we hear about are sanctioned or closed and stopped to give Gatwick Parking such a bad name.

Check, check and double check again the car parks you want to book your Gatwick Parking.

Gatwick Parking - Truth or dare!

The new ownership of Gatwick Airport came as a breath of fresh air for the airport development.

They brought new airlines and encourage the already establish airlines to come with new routes and extending the already vast list for tourist or business destinations.

If you didn’t travel from Gatwick in the last couple of years, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the new arrangements Gatwick set for its travellers.

But all came with a price that ain’t cheap by any means. It’s understandable, as any business when you invest you expect a turner over on your investment.

This can easily be seen on the official Gatwick Airport Parking. Only yesterday I read an article that a week parking at Gatwick North Terminal came at the ‘bargain’ price of £154.00.

‘Rip-off’ they shouted, and so would I if they quote me that price. It’s nearly the same cost as my flight if not more.

We all look at Gatwick airport official car parks first when we want to book. The stories that you hear about the off-site car parks at Gatwick send chills down your spine.

What I can say is – DON'T TARNISH THEM ALL WITH THE SAME BRUSH.

I browsed the internet to see what off-site Car Parks are at Gatwick Airport and what they can offer.
I looked over forums for travellers that used Gatwick Parking and see what they‘ve experienced.

There are companies that park cars on residential streets near Gatwick airport or on the near by cities such as Horley, Crawley, even Horsham (which is over 10 miles from Gatwick Airport).
Read in forums that people got letters from Tesco or Sainsbury to tell them they’ve had their car parked over the 3 hours limit , when their cars should’ve been parked in ‘a secure car park’ .
People praised just two or three car parks that were off-site Gatwick airport, but only one of them caught my eye. And that was Tudor Rose Airport Parking.

They offer Valet parking / Meet and Greet Parking at Gatwick Airport.
Their web site is fairly easy to browse through. They offer a very straight forward service. You can see transparency on to their products and offers; no hidden extras nor unpleasant surprises.
You can see where your car will be parked; photos of their car park are published on their web site. Their drivers are uniformed and have a photo ID; they even published with whom their drivers are insured.

It’s easy to see why people praised them and why they are in business for the last 20 years.

So if you fly from Gatwick don’t be put off by the stories of off-site car parks that go around.

There are good, reputable companies at Gatwick that can offer you a secure, reliable and prompt service at a reasonable price.

Airport Car Park

Do you need it?

Even if you do it the right way, airport parking can be expensive. The longer you're away the pricier it gets, so quickly weigh up the alternatives. Aside from bribing a relative into dropping you off with promises of duty-free bounty, it's usually cheaper to:

Use non-specialist train services

Whilst dedicated 'Airport Express' train services are costly, the same lines are often also used by normal rail services, so you can travel the same route much more cheaply, though it's likely there will be extra stops.

Consider a pre-booked taxi

Local taxis can be a cheap option if you've heavy luggage. Don't rely on getting taxis at the airport for the return leg, as most airports give a monopoly to one firm, which bumps prices up as there's no competition.

Arrange with your local firm in advance to be collected, giving your flight number so it can vary pick-up time accordingly, and it's usually MUCH cheaper.

Get a coach

Dedicated airport coaches are often cheapest for getting to the airport, but there's a trade-off, since they usually take the longest.

Leaving your car at home can be costly

While alternative transport methods are cheaper, watch out if you usually park on the street using a residents' parking permit or equivalent. Outrageously, if the parking bay your car is in is suspended, councils don't usually accept the excuse that you were on holiday and didn't check.

An obvious alternative is to give a trusted neighbour a key so they can keep an eye out and move the car for you. It's worth considering the insurance position of this though. It's likely it'll be covered by your insurance's 'third party emergency' driver's cover, though it's debatable whether avoiding a parking fine is an emergency.

If not and they have fully comprehensive insurance then often, although not always, it includes what’s called driving other cars cover. This provides them with third party cover in case there's an accident.

Park in a council's special car park

Some councils operate special car parks where for around £5-£10 a day you can leave your car when you're on holiday to guarantee no fine. This is an ill-disguised money-making scheme that boosts council funds due to the fear of parking penalties, but it may be a necessary evil for some.

Best buys:

Cheap airport parking

For some, airport parking works out as an economical and hassle-free route, yet without a little prior thought you can end up paying substantially over the odds. There's a simple rule:

The earlier you book your airport parking, the more you're likely to save

Book well in advance and you could cut the cost by up to 50%, though the exact saving depends on the time of the year. However, even if you've forgotten do to this:

Don't just turn up at the airport - booking first, even on the day of your flight, can save you money.

The most expensive prices are almost always for those people who just drive in, park and pay. If you get on the web and pre-book first, even if it's just before you head out (or your partner does it from a smart phone in the car) you'll usually save.

Step 1: Use car parking compare websites

The easiest way to find cheap parking is by using one of the special car parking comparison websites, that search the web to find you the best deals. There are a number of these, but most of them tend to turn up similar results. However, due to commercial relationships some share with certain parking operators, it's possible to shave a few percent of the cost here and there.

Step 2: Check hotel-with-parking deals

Many airport hotels offer room packages that include parking for the length of your trip. This is great if you live a long way from the airport, or have a super-early flight. Better still, they often only cost a little more than the parking alone and occasionally have even been cheaper in the past - so you could view this as parking with a hotel room thrown in.

Do check how transfers to the terminal are arranged; while many hotels offer a 24-hour complimentary service, some charge separately for the journey. It's also worth looking at the more general Cheap Hotel Deals guide to see if you can beat the price.